My teaching philosophy is not to say “do this – do that”. I believe teaching is like leading someone to a window, throwing it open and allowing them to discover their own artistic journey. I do this by allowing my students to become aware of the endless possibilities of each method and technique. Let me explain: We’ve just talked about a rose petal being like crushed silk. Let’s take a look at ‘Jonquilles Pour Ma Mere’ - Translated ‘Daffodils for my Mother’:

‘Jonquilles Pour Ma Mere’ 380mmx210mm
(Available as a fine art giclee on watercolour paper reproduction print)

Notice the folds in Sarah’s gown? They are created using exactly the same methods as we used to create the rose petals. Observe the similarities.

Now let’s take a look at colour:

See how the colours in her dress glow with orange, yellow, cream and purple. And yet the dress still '‘reads'’cream. This vibrancy is very appealing and lifts the composition. The use of complimentary colours placed next to each other have created that wonderful feeling of the late afternoon warm sun illuminating and glowing through the fabric. The complimentary colours dance. Complimentary colours? Not sure about them or how to use them? It’s easy – just follow this guide, observe how well they do their job in my paintings and you will be hooked on them too:

Complimentary colours:

• Red – Green
• Green – Red
• Orange – Blue
• Purple – Yellow
• Yellow – Purple

Tip: Should you forget, there is another way to refresh your memory until the complimentary colours become second nature to you:

You will already know we have three primary colours:

Red, Yellow and Blue.

Now take any two of those three primaries – for example let’s take Red and Yellow. Mix them, and we have orange. Now what colour (of the three primaries) is left? You have used Red and Yellow – so the colour that is left has to be Blue. Now that colour – Blue – is the complimentary colour of Orange.

The theory is: Mix two primaries and the colour you have left is the complimentary.

A little confused? Let’s take another example:

Let’s take Yellow and Blue this time. Mix them and what colour do you get? Of course – you’re right – we get Green. So, of the three primaries - we have used Yellow and Blue to create Green. Which colour of the original three primary colours are we left with? That’s it – we are left with Red. So it follows that that Red is the opposite of Green. And of course vice versa as in all cases.